Prisoner of War
by Ark Navy
Summary: For centuries, Mizuho and Iselia coexisted peacefully together hidden away. But when their villages are exposed, Meltokio seizes them and takes the survivors as slaves. Except for Sheena, who Zelos takes a unusual liking to...
1. Farewell, Youth

**Prisoner of War**

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**Summary**: (AU) For centuries, Mizuho and Iselia lived peacefully together, hidden away from the warring states. However, when Sheena fails to make a pact with Volt, many are killed and the location of their villages is exposed. Meltokio, the current powerhouse of the world, seizes the villages and takes the survivors as slaves. Except for Sheena, who Zelos must take as his bride.

**Spoilers**: Very small spoilers, if any.

**A/N**: There are changes to the setting I need to make clear before the story starts:

Ages: Lloyd 17, Sheena 18, Genis 13, Raine 23, Zelos 21.

Location: Where Mizuho is currently; Iselia and Mizuho are adjacent to each other, connected by a forest separate from Gaorrachia forest.

The world is one.

No Corrine.

-----

"Lloyd? Lloyd! _Lloyd Irving, wake up_!" Raine commanded as she proceeded to chuck a chalk eraser at him, hitting him square in the face.

He woke with a jolt, spilling the bucket of water he held in each hand. He made a startled effort to catch the buckets, but failed, slipped and ultimately fell face first into the puddle beneath him.

While the rest of the class got a good laugh at his misfortune, Professor Raine could only sigh with exasperation. "Honestly, I don't know how you manage to sleep standing up... Well, whatever. Go outside and dry yourself off. Genis, go get the mop and clean up would you? Just grab it through the hole in the wall..."

The excess was just distant classroom chatter as he exited the schoolhouse. Taking a few steps out into the bright sunlight, he squinted and held his hand over his eyes. With the warm afternoon sun, he would surely be dry in no time. Within the same timeframe though, school would be over. So what was the point of hanging around here?

Just to be safe however, he glanced back through the classroom window; Raine was turned to the board writing something he'd probably never comprehend. Genis was coming to the back, mop in hand, grumbling. Lloyd laughed teasingly at his friend but fled like the wind when the half-elf caught whiff of him.

As the boundaries of his village came into view, he slowed to a casual stroll. Quicker than the borders came a bounding white and green mass of protozoan. He turned to run. But it was too late. Within no time, Noishe had him pinned on his back at the mercy of the dog's slavering tongue.

"Noishe—agh, get offa me!" Lloyd commanded fruitlessly between the slobbery harassments. "Nooishe!—"

But Noishe was relentless. In advancing though he became careless, and Lloyd managed to free one feeble arm, all he needed to overthrow his hulking opponent. He placed his hand on a spot adjacent to a misplaced green speckle on the protozoan's side and began to scratch expertly.

A wave of unexpected pleasure swept over Noishe. He ceased his licking to instead express his contentment. Matching his brush, his right back leg suffered from sheer bliss caused spasms.

Another limb freed, he used it to successfully coax the dazed protozoan onto the ground where he rubbed his belly, laughing manically. "Haha, not so high and mighty now are ya?" His laughter was promptly cut short as a flying pebble struck him in the head. It was Sheena.

"Raine let your guys out early?" she questioned as she hopped down from her perch on the fence.

He grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, yeah. You could say that..."

"So 'no', huh?"

"No, yes. _No, no_—I mean **yes**, err—" he groaned in frustration. He smiled and shook the thought away, "Oh, nevermind. So, what'd you come here for? I was actually just on the way to visit you..."

Something uncharacteristic briefly flickered in her chocolate eyes—nervousness? Embarassment? Fear?—but was gone the instant she spoke. "Oh, I wanted to show you something; it couldn't wait."

He raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. "Really? Well, if it can't wait, then let's go." He said, standing up assertively. Noishe rolled onto his stomach and growled in disappointment. Halfheartedly, he pulled himself up onto his paws and followed the two out of the village.

They uneventfully trekked halfway through the forest that connected their villages, but it wasn't fit to last. Veering left from the wagon path, she pushed a sapling aside to reveal a smaller, more natural pathway. The bushes lining the dirt trail seemed to shiver artificially. Just as they approached the shrubbery, rabid rabbits lunged out, aiming at the ninja with a blind blood lust.

Aberrantly, Sheena shrieked and jumped aside from the blood thirsty, pearly furballs. Though moderately disturbed by her sudden eccentric outburst, he managed to take out said creatures in good time. After scuffling through their dismantled remains, Lloyd looked perplexed at her. "...What was _that_?"

Sheena just crossed her arms and turned away. "I got startled. Is there a sin in that?" she snapped.

"N-no, it's—"

"C'mon," she mumbled, "It's only a bit further from here..." He just shrugged and tailed her vigilantly.

A few minutes passed before Sheena stopped at an outsized clearing located on a large hill overlooking both of their villages. "...Is this it...?" Lloyd asked quietly and in a cautious tone. She bit her lower lip and surveyed the area with an invisible trace of apprehension. "I lied..." she finally admitted, turning back to him with an almost sad smile.

He blinked, "Huh? About what?"

She shifted about uneasily. ""I... I know this isn't like me, but—"

"You haven't been 'like you' since—"

"—I brought you up here because—"

"—they assigned you to—"

"—I'm scared of tomorrow."

He ceased his end of the conversation and softly repeated, "Of tomorrow?"

"Yeah," she walked a few paces ahead and sat down in the plush grass, then motioned for him to join her. He complied, lightly leaning on Noishe who had lain down behind them. "The pact with Volt—something's bound to happen, I know it."

"Of course something's going to happen," he said, experimentally wrapping his arm around her; she took it as a comforting gesture and let it happen. "You're gonna succeed in making the pact with Volt and everything's going to be fine."

"You don't know that, Lloyd." she whispered fearfully. He just drew her closer. "Okay, so I don't know that everything will be fine," his voice became firm with sincerity as he went on, "But I do know this: The more you dwell upon something that might happen, the more real it becomes. Once you've accepted it as what will happen, then it will, regardless of what you say or do."

There was a long pause between them before Lloyd spoke again. "...Remember the incident three years ago?"

Sheena internally flinched; she hated it when he brought this up. "When Meltokio almost found us out?"

He nodded solemnly, "Yeah. It just happened to be my family's turn to live in the decoy village just in case of an attack. Of course, nobody really thought anything of it because the last attack was over a hundred years ago. So naturally we went without suspicion.

"It was the third day we were there that Meltokio launched their attack. Mom had shaken me awake and told me that there were foreign soldiers at the gate and that Dad, as well as many other of the militiamen for the village, were already entangled in battle. As soon as I had gotten my stuff together, the whole house shook as their army tried to bust through the door. I wanted to take them on, but instead we fled through the back window.

"It was then we realized the sky wasn't illuminated by the sun, but by a huge comet of mana hurtling towards us. It was unlike anything any of us had ever seen before. While we still had time, we ran to the teleportation dock. She urged me to go, telling me I had to so that no one else would be sent to their deaths, but I was stupid and refused to leave without her. The comet was only a few meters from the earth when she pushed me onto the teleporter.

"As soon as I arrived back here, Mom's dagger appeared and the teleporter shattered. Everyone around was in awe at the huge explosion to the northeast of us; they didn't know what had happened..."

"Lloyd," Sheena cut in gently, "You don't have to bring this up. Nobody could've predicted that would've happened, and even if they could, they wouldn't have been able to change the outcome..."

He looked up; the sky over them was slowly fading into wondrous hues of pink and orange as the stars meekly twinkled aside the rising moon's grace. "I know," he sighed, "But the day before, I kept thinking about what would happen if we were to be attacked and the only ending I could think of was that we'd all die one way or another."

Skepticism was the only thing she could fell at the moment, but kept that to herself. "So you think that if you had been thinking differently that day, that things wouldn't have turned out the way they did?"

"...No, but it would certainly make it a bit easier to deal with..." he murmured, absently fiddling with Noishe's fur in his free hand.

She looked at him queerly. "Um, sorry, but that doesn't exactly go with what you were telling me earlier."

He frowned in thought, but quickly ceased and grinned idiotically. There was only so long he could maintain an intelligible façade before it blew up in his face. "Maybe not, but I've got your mind off of tomorrow though, haven't I?"

There was a momentary silence, before Lloyd interjected again, "Oh come on, tomorrow's just another day, and no matter how dreadful it may turn out to be, there'll always be an end somewhere along the road."

She rolled her eyes at his hardcore optimism; it was catchy. "You really think so? Even if—"

"Yup," he answered confidently. "That's what I told myself three years ago: that sooner or later I wouldn't be pained by it. It works for me."

Overhead, the stars began to peek out and glimmer as a rich navy blue replaced the melting colors of the sunset. The moon seemed to be made of the purest silver as it single-handedly illuminated the sky, leaving it dark enough only to grace the entourage of stars. Everything so calm and tranquil, so in nature there was no way she couldn't believe him.

...And even if she could, she would believe him regardless. She trusted him, and his word. "It _will_ all be over sometime, won't it?"

He didn't answer; that was okay. She didn't need a reply to know the truth.

-----

"Good Morning, Miss _Summoner_."

"**Shut it**, Kuchinawa." Growled Sheena as she buried her head between her legs. She sat tucked against the side of the creaky wooden boat, though in reality, it was hardly even passable as a canoe. It was the only thing they had that wouldn't sink like a rock.

He just laughed, "Looks like somebody isn't a morning per... son..." As if on cue, he paled and covered his mouth, blurting something around the lines of, "Oh Goddess...!" before tearing across the boat and over to a side. Everyone on board cried out in a startled panic, grabbing onto something—or in a few cases, someone—as the small craft threatened to over turn.

"Looks like somebody hasn't gotten their sea bearings." She grumbled mockingly.

"If he ever had them, "Orochi commented, "I think he just lost them in that round of—Aeew, I can't look!"

All aboard made some sort of disgusted sound, while the oarsmen at the front just rolled his eyes and muttered something foul—so much so, it was punishable by jail time, even—and cursed the naivety of the younger generation.

Sheena sighed and tried to listen to the sound of the waves over Kuchinawa's retching. He was right though, she really was not a morning person—contrary to her entire village. Just another reason she considered herself an outcast...

She jumped when she felt a pounding from inside the box full of medicinal remedies next to her. Intrigued more than frightened, she cautiously opened the lid and looked inside: crammed full of gels, panacea bottles, anti-magic bottles, holy bottles, flare bottles, verbena—just about everything under the sun. She was about to close the lid when suddenly a hand reached out of the pile and grabbed her wrist.

She held back a scream, instead pulling with all her might on the arm. Supplies went flying as she managed to unearth a very dazed Lloyd from the box, who landed with a relatively soft _thud_ next to her. Despite the disturbances on the boat, the other pushed it aside as Kuchinawa and continued with their duties.

"Lloyd!" she hissed, half distressed, half relieved. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He sat up and rubbed his aching temple, "Man, for a girl, you've got one hell of an arm!"

With almost unnatural speed and stillness, she smacked a hand over his mouth. "Quiet! Do you know what they'll do if they find you here?"

Even behind her hand, he managed a stupid grin. "Fuhat'llf they do, fro me oferboard?" He looked into her eyes, and his smile instantly faded. They were filled with fear and genuine concern. "Fuhat's wiff zoze eyes?"

"How can you say that!" So stupid! She was about ready to slap him. "Now that you're here, you're at risk too!"

He placed his hand on hers, "Cfould I not schpeak zroo your hfand, please?" Hand removed, he spoke clearly and definitively. "Sheena, I've been at risk ever since I was born; we all have! I fully realize the situation at hand and I know that we could all perish from this, but that's why I'm here. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen—to you, anyway."

She considerably softened, "Lloyd..."

"Look, dead ahead! There it is, the Temple of Lightning!" the oarsmen called out, pointing to a large structure on a moderately small island. It was tall and covered thickly in moss and other plant life, giving a fascia of serenity. Nearing it though, explosions of thunder could be heard raging within.

Sheena turned back to him, "Okay, as soon as we dock, you're staying on the boat."

"You can't make me stay!" he retaliated. "I respect you and all, but I want to be there when you make the pact with Volt."

"And what if I don't!" You want to be there when we're all fried to a crisp!"

"No, I want to be there to protect you!"

By this time their shouting match had grown quite a bit in volume and they found the entire crew—except for Kuchinawa, he was still sick—almost leaning over their shoulders to listen in on their squabble. She stopped to glare at them, "Don't you have jobs to be doing?" They straightened and resumed their work.

"Not to get on your bad side or anything, Sheena," one of the crew said while sorting out emergency supplies. "But I think it would be better if you brought him with us. I mean, the waves are angry today; who knows where they might sweep this little dinghy. If he were to stay on land, the beasts are also just as dangerous. I wouldn't like the odds of a one versus all, myself..."

"Yeah, Sheena!" another chirped, "Take a helping hand for once!"

She didn't even need to look over at Lloyd to know he was wearing a triumphant grin. "Fine, fine. You don't have to gang up on me, geez..."

-----

Post-Note:

Seeing as I now have two, technically four, multi-chaptered stories begging to be updated, I've got to make priorities. Sealed Fates comes first; I started it first, thus I will end it first. That, and these chapters will be longer (at least 2,500 words, more than double my usual minimum).

Now that this is off my chest, expect an update for Sealed Fates within the next couples days... hopefully.


	2. Volt

**Prisoner of War**

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**A/N**: I apologize for my late update, I don't really have an excuse seeing as I wasn't ready on the deadline date I set, then I got sick which obviously set things back further...

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Their group consisted of a total ten people—including Lloyd and Sheena. First off, it was a miracle that their dinghy held all of them without fail, and a blessing that the seas had been clam for their travel. So far everything had been going well, even with Kuchinawa's episode of sea-sickness and the minimal elbow room.

Once they reached land, four of their accomplices stayed at the entrance to ensure no one would disturb the process; that was the last thing they needed. Orochi and Kuchinawa escorted Sheena as the main 'body guards' (even though they all knew Sheena could defend herself better than she could be defended) along with one more, Genki, who specialized in more healing and replenishing than actual combat. Their other group member, Kitsu—but everyone called him 'Kitsune', meaning 'fox' for his cleverness—served as a strategist to help them navigate through the puzzles and traps that filled the Temple.

...And then there was Lloyd.

He was more of a stowaway-freeloader than anything else—of course, he could hold his own just as well as anyone—but was a welcome addition to their group, nonetheless. They seemed to appreciate his upbeat and free spirited out look. Even Sheena, known to be a die-hard pessimist, seemed to be continuously smiling in his presence. Orochi went as far to comment, "It looks like Lloyd is the hero who has rescued Sheena the Cheerful from the evil Sheena the Grouchy!"

Everyone was too busy laughing to see the blush that crept its way across her face. "What's that supposed to mean?" she questioned playfully. Lloyd looked over at her in time to see the last of the blush before it completely disappeared; he just smiled and kept quiet.

In the meanwhile, Kuchinawa had gone slightly ahead of the group and was observing the large blocks that obstructed their path. "Oi, Kitsune! What're these for?" he asked, motioning to the blocks.

"Careful!" he warned, "They're filled with an electrical current. If you touch them directly, you'll be electrocuted." (Kuchinawa squelched a peep of discomfort and considerably distanced himself.)

"So then, what do we do it get past them?" Orochi said, looking to Kitsune for an answer while visually inspecting the blocks.

Genki shrugged, "Why don't we just clear'em?" he suggested, going on. "I know that I, for one, have certainly hurdled over objects far more challenging then these scrawny things," Their guess as to why he studied medicine in the first place was because of his reckless nature, what with him always hurting himself carelessly.

Kistune grabbed the back of his apparel before Genki could launch himself over the blocks and instead proposed, "Why don't we look for a more suitable—less dangerous—route around or through this situation, hm?"

"Like what?"

"Well, give me a moment to think, and—"

"Okay then, while you're thinking, I'll try my idea,"

"Oho no you're not!"

Sheena sighed as the two continued to bicker. She knew that opposing forces were essential in life, that they supposedly keep the other in check. Though she really couldn't see how one with a reckless nature could keep someone with a cautious nature in check. Maybe to keep life from getting boring?

But speaking of reckless, she thought, looking around, where'd Lloyd run off to now?

By the time she laid eyes on him, he was already reaching the top of a nearby flight of stairs. "Lloyd!" she called out to him, causing him to startle and trip on the top step. All hushed in awe and terror as a huge pillar of lightning fell from the artificial sky and struck an object only a few feet from where their stowaway lay. He yelped and threw his hands over his head.

Once the danger had passed, Sheena rushed over to Lloyd. "Are you alright?" she panted.

Though thoroughly shaken, he replied, "Y-Yeah..."

"Good," she let herself sound relieved before unleashing her resentment, "What the hell were you thinking? You could've gotten killed!" she said as she chidingly—but gently—helped him to his feet.

"I have an idea," he answered simply, wriggling his arm free from her hold. "Justa sec,"

With poise, he leapt over the trigger and reached the object that was previously struck with no worries. He circled the object curiously. Then, he brought his foot back and gave the object a nice boot. It buzzed in response; the rod topping it swiftly retreating back into the ground like a turtle into its shell.

"Look out," he warned before jumping over the trigger and landing awkwardly on the second stair down, next to Sheena. He flashed her one of his goofy smiles and dashed down the stairs.

Slowing to a cautious walk at the pathway to her left, he looked around in a reassuring manner. "Sheena. Get away from there, just in case!" he shouted; she had her skeptical side, but returned to the bottom of the flight without hesitation.

"Does he know what he's doing?" Kuchinawa whispered to his brother. Orochi just shrugged and said, "We'll soon find out,"

Assertively, Lloyd thrust his foot onto the button beneath him. As he'd predicted, another strong bolt rained down from above, striking the mechanism ahead of him. It absorbed the shock, transforming the energy into a smaller sphere of condensed electricity spiraling outward and eventually hitting and shattering a nearby block.

"Over here," Lloyd summoned to them, grinning ear-to-ear since his plan didn't explode in his face like before.

Kitsune couldn't help muttering "Wow," to himself, surprised that he hadn't thought of something so elementary in the first place. After all, he was supposed to be the smart one.

"What is it?" Sheena asked, pointing to the small strata before them. It wasn't like the others they had encountered; in fact, it seemed almost out of place amidst the mysterious and forlorn architecture surrounding them.

"Well, I don't really know," he replied, "but last time I saw one of these, it gave me this." He pulled out of his pocket an incandescent ring, adorned with a single large, fiery jewel.

"...A ring?" Kuchinawa blinked, "How would that help us?"

"Last time I used it was in that one old temple-church place out by the decoy village. It had the ability to shoot out fire and deactivate traps and such, so I thought it might be useful here, too. It's worth a shot," he added with a shrug.

"It shoots... fire? Really," Genki put in disbelievingly.

To demonstrate, he slid the ring on and shot a small fireball into the distance, then turned back to the glowing altar (but only after flickering Genki a triumphant 'I-told-you-so' look). He inserted his ringed hand into the glowing abyss, the light intensifying in response. Four invisible bells chimed, and swirling sparkles swarmed the jewel adorning the band. When the light dimmed, the passionate red was gone, replaced with an energetic, vibrant purple that crackled with electrical prowess.

Sheena seemed almost rapt by the new color, "What does it do now?"

Lloyd, too, was preoccupied with the change, though absently he shot a beam of violet electrical energy past Orochi. It flickered briefly until it faded from sight.

One and all were almost mesmerized by the Sorcerer's Ring, except for Kistune. He kept studying the ring, then glancing back to the blocks. Putting two and two together, he instructed, "Lloyd, try using that ring's power on those blocks back there."

"Huh? Oh, okay,"

"If I'm right," he started, "that should destroy the blue ones at the least..."

"And the others?" Genki asked inquisitively.

He gave it a moment of thought before answering, "There are probably other altars that change the ring to correspond to the red and yellow blocks as well." Going on, his voice added in a hint of anticipation, "We just have to find 'em."

-----

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this," Kuchinawa admitted with a laugh, "But I'm glad you stowed away in that crate, Lloyd. If not for you and the Sorcerer's Ring, we'd probably have thought it hopeless by now."

He grinned, "Then I guess its okay to break the rules every once in a while if it comes back to aid you in the end,"

Sheena shook her head in mocking disgust. "Honestly Lloyd, is there a rule you haven't broken at one point or another?"

"Well, I'm still working on gravity," he said jokingly.

"No—what about that last fall?" Kitsune pointed out, "Normally people don't trip _up_ the stairs,"

As they continued to talk, Sheena couldn't help but smile inwardly to herself. Here they were, about to face something that could potentially take their lives with great ease and yet they were chatting and joking like old friends. Lloyd's carefree and easy going demeanor really lightened the mood, making it seem so easy to smile at what could become the doorway to death.

_No,_ she thought, _it won't become a doorway to death or anything like that. I'm going to make sure of it. I may be the only Summoner, and it may be my job to carry the power of a Summon Spirit—a god, almost—on my own, but I know I'll never really be alone._

They trekked onward. A while passed and Lloyd noticed Sheena had become increasingly despondent. Even if there was a small beam plastered on her face, her eyes seemed glazed as she stared into nothingness; maybe something was secretly bothering her. He lagged back a bit to find out.

"You're awfully quiet," he stated without breaking his grin. "Is something bothering you?"

She blinked and the glazed, absent look was flushed from her eyes. "No," she said sweetly, "...I'm just... glad you're all here,"

"_Sheena_," Genki mock gasped, "_bashful_?"

She sent a glare his way. "I am not being bashful! ...Just honest, that's all."

"But you're _bashful _about being _honest_,"

Suddenly, Lloyd stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. The others stopped and waited for an explanation in a confused silence. Frightfully, he hissed, "Did... did you hear that?"

They listened intently for any unfamiliar sounds, but failed to hear anything over the booming thunder coming from the surrounding rooms. After a while, Kuchinawa whispered, "I didn't hear anything,"

"What did you hear?" Sheena questioned uneasily, her buoyant mood swept away by a cold rush of apprehension.

He paused, trying to find the right words to phrase what he heard—or what he thought he had heard. "It sounded like... almost like a violent gust of wind,"

Kitsune shrugged, "Then maybe it was just that. The weather wasn't supposed to be perfect today, anyway..."

"I don't know..."

"Well, at any rate," Orochi commanded their attention with the sheer icy tone, no one had any doubts that he was anything but dead serious.

"Right," Lloyd agreed, pointing the Sorcerer's Ring at the last block that sat atop Volt's platform. As it shattered, lightning strikes rained down, narrowly missing them all. Neither noticed, but Lloyd and Sheena had slowly been inching their way towards each other.

When the hail of lightning died, Volt appeared before them. His eyes—if that's what they even were—were hard, cold slits, unyielding and mirthless. They instilled a deep fear in Sheena, but she knew she had to be strong, or at least act it, anyway.

She stepped forward, speaking with authority. "I am Sheena! I seek a pact with the Summon Spirit, Volt!"

When he did not respond, she began to feel panicky. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Sheena, be quiet." Kitsune hissed, staring intently at the lightning entity. After a while, he said, "He says, 'I am already bound by a pact',"

"Does he speak telepathically or something? 'Cause I don't hear anything," Genki blurted.

Ignoring Genki, she looked keenly to the Summon Spirit. She had a bad feeling about this... "Then I ask that thou annulst thy pact and establish a new pact with me!"

Volt began to glow with extraordinary power, but just when they had all gotten poised to strike, his glowing ceased. Puzzled, they turned to Kitsune.

"...'The previous pact is invalid, but I no longer seek a pact',"

"But Volt, we need your power! You can't just deny—"

"Sheena, look out!"

Before she could react, Lloyd had jumped in front of her and parried an otherwise lethal lightning bolt, thunder cackling in its wake. The two could do nothing but watch as two more bolts hit Genki and Kitsune, striking them dead in an instant.

Sheena gasped in horror at the merciless murder of her kinsmen. She had no idea above her head a storm of lightning brewed, growing in might by the second.

"Sheena, Orochi, Lloyd; run!" Kuchinawa cried out, jumping over the side of the ledge and hightailing it out of the temple.

Orochi cursed at his brother's cowardice but agreed it was the only way they could come out of this alive. He took one last glance at the fallen beside him and followed Kuchinawa's path, muttering a prayer for them under his breath as he went.

The remaining two were too horror stricken to move. The storm above them flashed brilliantly, unleashing its wrath of electrical prowess, but at the last second, he raised his sword high in the air, defiant.

Sheena had covered herself as best she could with her hands, fully expecting to be swept away and shattered by the blow.Butwhen none came, she cracked open her eyes to see Lloyd, radiant as the electricity soared through him.

"_Lloyd_!" She cried, running towards him despite the waves that attempted to paralyze her. She didn't care if she got hurt, she didn't want to see anymore people die from her mistakes. She embraced him, held him in her arms as tight as she could, sharing the scorching agony of well over a thousand storms.

The onslaught finally ceased, and the couple crumpled to the ground. Weakly, she managed to sit up with her arms still wrapped around the swordsman. "Lloyd..." she whispered with difficulty, hot tears welling in her eyes. "Lloyd, wake up. Please, give me some sort of sign you're alright... please... wake up..."

Through the paralysis that began to set in, she desperately searched the area around her. A life bottle, an apple gel, orange gel; anything! She found nothing. The only thing she could rely on now was her own strength, and even that was diminishing rapidly.

She tried to heave herself up, to no avail. The only thing she could manage as she held her dear friend's corpse in her own arms, was to still glare at Voltwith all her defiance and valor.

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, and in an instant, everything was black.

...And for the first time, there was no comforting pulse in the darkness.


	3. Selection

**Prisoner of War**

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It seemed like weeks before her numbness died down to a prickly tingle. She was quick to regret this however, for a throbbing headache came in its place.

"...I don't know... I certainly hope not," a familiar voice beside her whispered, "...Yeah, I suppose so..."

Groggily, she picked up her head to see Colette to her left, dressed in brown tattered rags that barely reached her knees. Her golden blonde hair had been tied back at the nape of her neck and she was covered from head to toe in blood, filth and other who-knows-what.

Colette smiled when she noticed Sheena stir. "Oh, thank goodness you're awake!"

"Not so loud," Sheena hissed, her temple pounding even more unbearably.

"Oh, sorry," she replied in a hushed murmur.

"Colette... where are we?" she said, moving to put her hand to her aching head. Looking up, she realized attached to her wrist was a thick metal band that chained her to the wall. She blinked, grasping the chain in her hand. It was cold and uncaring.

"I think we're in the Capital City, Meltokio," she answered hesitantly, "At least, that's what the soldiers' uniforms looked like..."

Her blood ran cold at the thought. _Soldiers? At Iselia and Mizuho?_ She had never actually seen soldiers other than their trivial militiamen. Even then, since they'd never experienced a crisis face-to-face, there had never been a need to pull out their defenses other than for their monthly training schedule. "Soldiers form the Capital City invaded our villages? But why...?"

She shook her head doubtfully, "I'm not quite sure, but the word going around is there was a turncoat in our village. I can't imagine that though. Everyone's always so nice and earnest... Who would want to do this?"

Another voice spoke up; it was the woman next to Colette. She said, "If you really want to know, the traitor informed them about forming the pact with Volt. They destroyed the villages since we aren't with the Capital Alliance, they thought we might use that power against them."

Sheena jumped to her feet and pulled away from the wall as much as she could, regardless of her pounding headache. "But we're not with the Liberation Republic either!" she protested, "Besides, even if we did acquire every single Summon Spirits' power, what would we do? Charge in with our hundred man militia? We have a Proclamation of Neutrality for God's sake!"

The woman just shrugged hopelessly, "All's fair in love and war, I s'pose..."

"Quiet!" Colette unexpectedly commanded in a hushed whisper. "I think I hear someone coming!"

They immediately backed against the walls as if to hide in the shadows and listened intently to the distant voices coming from the stairwell. The voices spoke in the Common Language; a language of which her people and the people of neighboring Iselia had been educated in, but were still quite affluent.

"...So what's this about...?" said one voice with deep interest.

The other voice laughed heartily, "Well, when we got our last shipment in from the southwestern forestlands, we had to carry a few of 'em down here—they were out like a rock!"

The first voice sounded impatient. "Go on,"

"Onna them, whoo... I tell ya, beauty of a Goddess—body-a one, too. 'Course, luck would have it I wuddn't the one to transport 'er, hehehe..."

The two had turned the corner of the stairway, their shadows easily seen flittering along the stone wall. One of them stopped, almost looking ready to leave again. "Look, Bruce, spit it out. I've got a meeting with His Highness in a half an hour and if he finds out I've been takin' first dibs—"

"C'mon, jus' this one, I won' snitch." The other, a bit on the chubby side urged the other to follow him deeper into the crypt. "Trust me, man. Even I don't want to waste this one on the King or anyone else. Once you see her, you'll be glad I brought you down here."

As the two began to come into view, Colette started trembling violently. She turned to Sheena in a panic, "Sheena, we've got to get out of here!"

She managed to wrap her around Colette's shoulders and tried to calm her down. "We can't get out, Colette. Don't worry though, they won't do anything to us—they can't, anyway."

The woman next to her sighed, her voice filled with fear as well. "All's fair in love and war; you don't know them. You don't know what they did to everyone during the trip here..."

The come into view, their features dark and intimidating in the dim torchlight. The taller of the two had vibrant red hair that tumbled down in curls past his shoulders. Just below his neck was a passionate crimson jewel seemingly attached to his skin with a golden crest. A sheathed sword embedded with various jewels hung at his hip; there was no doubt that he was a nobleman. The shorter one, 'Bruce', looked to be just an average prison guard.

"Hm, handcuffs..." the nobleman mused thoughtfully.

"Lord Zelos, you know the handcuffs have to stay. Now don't dawdle, she's down a-ways..."

As they made their way down the line, Colette inched closer to Sheena as much as their chains would allow. "Sheena," she whispered dreadfully, "I'm so scared..."

"It'll be alright..." Sheena whispered back strongly. She knew with all her heart that things wouldn't be okay, but somebody had to act strong. It wasn't necessarily that she was afraid of these two men, but what Colette had experienced to traumatize her so.

"Hey!" the guard bellowed, "If I hear one more peep outta yeh maggots, I'll make sure yeh each get what's comin' to yeh, personally!"

The nobleman, now identified as Zelos, blinked. Fairly taken aback, but he said nothing and followed Bruce until they reached the end of the line. Until they reached Sheena.

"Move, you ingrate," Bruce commanded forcefully, pushing Colette aside so they could get a good look at Sheena. Zelos' eyes went wide, "Damn, you weren't exaggerating..."

"'Course not," he chuckled before glaring down at her and yelling, "**Get up**!"

She glanced over at her horrified and trembling friend. Silently, Colette's gave her a look that said, "Do as he says," But regardless, she glared right back at the guard with her bitter most hatred and malice.

He growled and reached down to grab her tunic. "I said, **_get up_**!"

As soon as he'd touched her even the slightest, she instinctively threw a hard-hitting punch his way, hitting him square in the face. He withdrew, holding a hand to his face. All the prisoners around her gaped at her brave feat; Zelos—he couldn't contain his hysterical laughter.

"Oh, a fighter, are we?" Bruce said, shaking with rage. "I think I know just the thing for you..." Without warning, he pulled what appeared to be a black box with a handle and a switch. He pressed it close to her and activated the switch, allowing a paralyzing wave of electricity to run riot.

Sheena bit back a yelp of pain. It reminded her so precisely of the scorching agony she had shared with Lloyd just before his death. Tears refilled her eyes and ran freely down her cheeks from both the anguish and the memory. Before long, she was forced into lying on her stomach like a dog due to the taser's effects—that's when Zelos stepped in. His laughing abruptly ceased and his tone cold and deadly.

"That's enough,"

He pulled his hand off the trigger. "What?" snapped Bruce, surprised by Zelos' sudden change of sentiment.

"I said, that's enough." He repeated icily. "Remove her bonds, now."

"Aha, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist..." he laughed, fetching the keys to her chains. He seemed now in an upbeat mood as he unlocked her links. Even as he cogently pulled her to her feet, he didn't do so as cruelly as he could've, "Alright, she's all yours. 821M442F. Would you like me to do that, or would you rather do that yourself?"

"I'll do that later," he said a bit more casually with a wave of his hand. "Right now I should probably get going or His Highness might start to wonder."

"I presume you'll send a courier, then?"

Feeling was starting to return to her, and the man's grip was considerably weak. Sheena realized she could make a break for it; surely there had to be Liberation Republic Camps not far from here. Even if she couldn't make it that far in one run, she could hide out in the slumps of the city. After all, as long as she wasn't marked with—what she assumed to be, from her muddled translation skills—a slave number, they couldn't return her. She'd fit in quite well.

"Yeah, I'll probably just have—"

This was her chance! Unexpectedly, she slipped her arm out of his grasp and delivered a swift roundhouse kick to her abdomen. She turned to run, but was immediately intercepted by Zelos, catching her in one quick sweep. "Now, now. No running,"

Sheena had twice the nerve to kick him in the groin, but something kept her from doing so. It was the way her held her. Even if it was only to prevent her from escaping, he was gentle, almost as if he was embracing her.

Bruce got up almost wearily—trying not to show it though. His face wore a look of shock when he saw the Chosen clutching the girl, and she not even struggling against him. "Uh, nice catch..." he commented slowly.

"Come to think of it, I think it'd be best if I came back after the conference and picked her up myself." He said with a laugh, adding, "She'll probably beat up anyone else who tries to take her,"

Sense returned to her and her blood began to boil. She had only picked up words and phrases from their conversation, but was sure of the situation she was in. Damn right she'd kill; she'd do just about anything to avoid becoming a slave for some Capital Alliance aristocratic schmuck!

"Look out," Bruce commanded before activating the taser yet again. This time it was on a much lighter shock and was only meant to stun her while he affixed her back to the wall.

Zelos sighed, "Was that really necessary?"

"'She'll probably beat up anyone else'..."

As they left, he just made an unhappy 'hmph'-ing noise and silence reigned over the dark corridors of the basement once again.

Colette crawled over to where Sheena lay and moved to place her hand on Sheena's shoulder. "Are you alright?" she whispered frightfully. As soon as she made contact with the ninja, a quick jolt of static electricity jumped inside of her. She startled a little but didn't back away.

Sheena just let out a sigh of defeat, "Yeah, I guess so. It's just... it's just so **angering** how powerless we are!" she added with a grumble, "If I kick someone, they're supposed to _stay down_..."

"Don't let your anger get the better of you, Sheena." She warned timidly, "When they were taking us down here, they motioned to us a horrible, horrible torturing room, saying something about runaways or fighters—"

"It's inhumane, I saw a whole bloody body print on the wall..." the woman next to Colette spat.

"—and if you try anything out of line, anything at all, they don't need an excuse to take you there and keep you until they feel. Who knows how long that could be?"

"It's not uncommon for prisoners to die in here before they're even presented to buyers. You should consider yourself lucky to have been picked so quickly,"

Sheena frowned, hissing, "Lucky to be assigned an owner—a _'master'_? Are you crazy?"

Colette looked down sadly, tears filling her eyes. "That's not what I mean," she said, "People like you—strong, beautiful, desirable—will be taken first. That leaves those of us who are not so strong or beautiful—like me—to wait another month, possibly longer, until the next slave trade comes into town."

"Don't turn into a pessimist like me, Colette. Besides, I'm sure you'll get picked..." she stopped, covering her face with her hand in frustration. "No, no, no! What the hell am I saying?"

Colette giggled sadly. "I've never heard of you being pessimistic. After all, you're always the one I turn to when I'm feeling down, and you always manage to cheer me up somehow. That's the Sheena I know; an idealist."

"An idealist, huh?" she mused, not watching what slipped from her mouth next. "I think the title 'Idealist' more suits Lloyd than me, or anyone else..."

As she'd feared, the blonde's memory was visibly jogged and they both quieted for a while. Colette in deep thought; Sheena in deep regret. Hesitantly, she started, "One question, i-if it's not too much to ask," she continued only when Sheena nodded for her to go on. "Before you were knocked out, do you... do you know what they did with Lloyd?"

She mentally cringed. The one question she'd dreaded, and Colette had to ask it. She and Lloyd had been great friends through and through, one would have to be blind, deaf and dumb to not see that. As his friend, and Sheena's own as well, she deserved the truth...

...but not just yet. "I don't know," she responded softly; and in all honesty, she didn't. She knew what Volt had done to him, sure, but what the soldiers pulled was still a mystery to her. Deceptive honesty was always her strong point, as a ninja.

A disheartened, "Okay," was Colette's simple response.

-----

"Chosen?" the King blinked in surprise as Zelos appeared in the door way. "You are... early."

He stopped, "Would you rather I be late, Your Majesty?"

"No, no," the King chuckled, adding, "It was a pleasant surprise, that's all. Have a seat; we have much to discuss now that we've unearthed and captured the last two 'neutral' villages..."

As the King continued to talk more on the two villages and their position at present, Princess Hilda slipped a wink towards Zelos, mouthing, "Hi, Zelos..."

He smirked, mouthing back, "Hello, hunny..."

She giggled, stopping when her father shot her a chiding look. He spoke louder now. "The first point I want to make very clear is that these savages are dreadfully skilled in the art of illusory, escape and assassination so all slaves must be marked with their appropriate numbers _immediately _and without delay. When handling them you must be extremely strict, forceful and vigilant. The guards have done what they can to search and rid every native of any sort of weapon or unfamiliar device; however they may still carry poisons and elixirs that could send any of you to your deathbed.

"Further more; to prevent escape and rebellion, absolutely no two slaves of the same race or origin may come in contact with another, ever. Two slaves of different origins may certainly toil together; they won't be smart enough to figure the other's language. This leads me to my next point: absolutely no teaching any of the Common Language to these natives aside from the basic commands necessary to complete their assigned tasks."

He cleared his throat, "Lastly in this set, among this group there is one unidentified sole survivor of the attack from the Lightning Summon Spirit. They are most likely the only hope of escape and insurgency these savages have left. If found, they must be put to death at once. ...Anyone in violation of these rules, as well as the aforementioned codes to which must always be obeyed, will face persecution and or death accordingly." He finished definitively.

"No questions?" he inquired with a stern sweep of his eyes over his audience. "Good, onto the next matter at hand..."


	4. Retrieval and Tasks

**Prisoner of War**

-----

**A/N**: Ugh, school started yet again.

Just before the two thousand word mark, I tried out a visibly different writing style (in comparison to my normal manner) partially based off the late Edgar Allen Poe. Whether better or worse, it was just a quick experiment.

-----

"You know," Zelos chuckled to another nobleman as they exited the castle. "He could've just given us a curt warning and briefed us on the whole martyr bit, woulda saved us a lotta time. Hell, he could've just sent a pamphlet or somethin',"

"Indeed," The noble agreed. "Another hour of our lives down the drain..."

Zelos grimaced. "That's depressing,"

He shrugged, "Well, have a pleasant day."

"Yeah, you too," Zelos replied distractedly. He felt like kicking himself for being such a scatterbrain, the castle was where he needed to go to pick up the girl before the King got to them. Yet Zelos had left. Why? He wasn't too sure, himself; the entire meeting his mind had strangely continued to sway towards the girl. Not just her body this time, something he couldn't quite place his finger on. Whatever it was, he knew he had some hell of a catch awaiting him.

It's good to be known.

The only possible way he could reach the prison where they were being held before the King was to cut through the church, the one place in which he was not very warmly received. Ever since word let out that the Pope was after the bloodline of the Chosen in order to attain more power, Zelos had stayed reasonably far from the church. Though the corruption of the Pope was widely known throughout the city, no one talked about it in fear it would give their Capital a bad image. After all, maintaining a proper image was a necessity for Meltokio, as the core of the Capital Alliance.

He made a sharp turn to his right towards the Church. One of the young clergy members working outside looked up from her idle work. Zelos used to be a familiar sight around this area before the corruption was publicized, but to see him now—careless and lighthearted as always—approaching the cathedral was simply unheard of!

As he neared her, she shot him a worried glance, hissing, "Master Zelos? What in Martel's name are you doing here?" At once following her questioning, she put on a façade of diligent work, only glimpsing at him out of the corner of her eye every so often.

He smiled, flattered by her concern if he were not in such a hurry. "Just fetching some lost luggage,"

She looked very unconvinced. "Be careful,"

Zelos nodded a quick thanks in her direction before nudging the large doors open so he could squeeze through.

The cathedral was in its entirety was hushed with prayers. The thick curtains and adornments seemed to absorb any stray noises while the murmur of an organ could be heard in the distance. Of course, there was no actual organ playing in the overwhelming establishment, but the color scheme seemed needy of a dreary accomplice.

Zelos was relieved. No one had looked up from their prayers and worshiping; the silence continued to reign. He had thought for sure his presence would let loose at least a few whispers from the congregation, and before long not a soul in the flock wouldn't know of his irregular attendance.

Furtively, he slinked behind the ceremony and its attendees to the heavily polished oak doors leading to the office of the Pope. Luckily for him, today was a Wednesday, meaning that the Pope would not be in his office. He would most likely be in a meeting with the Papal workers employed at the King's manor, as he had every Wednesday before.

Once inside, he closed the door ever so softly and scrutinized the tiny office. The book shelf seemed the most logical to hide a secret passage way. He ran his finger along of the spines of the books, saying quietly to himself, "Eeny, meeny, miney, mo..." He then stopped, and withdrew the book upon which his finger had landed. In response, the heavy shelf shuddered and moved aside to reveal the exact passage he sought.

-----

Just up the spiraling stairs, hidden behind a brick wall, Zelos could hear the voices of the soldiers escorting the King down into the basement. He didn't have much time.

He worked his way craftily through the shadows until he could go no further without stepping into the weak torchlight. A few of the prisoners startled at his entrance, but remained silent, trembling and fearfully awaiting harm that would not come. The King and his men were steadily approaching; where were the keys? Hanging in the middle torch that illuminated the room, they were. Good ol' Bruce, Zelos'd have to thank him later.

He held the ring of keys against his stomach to silence their jingling, smiling to himself when he saw that the one he was after sleeping on the cold floor. But he couldn't let himself get distracted, not right now. He'd have to wake her up.

After fiddling with the mess of keys at his disposal for sometime, then finally managing to unlock her cuffs, Zelos hurriedly shook her by the shoulders. "Wake up, wake up," he hissed.

Instead, the younger girl curled up next to her awoke and squelched a shriek of surprise. She instinctively scrambled away from him, but her eyes held glints of hope. "Are you freeing us?" asked Colette in their village's tongue. When he did not respond, she asked again, "Are you freeing us?" but this time in the common language.

"Quiet," he whispered sharply as Sheena came to. "Get up, quick, we gotta go!" Pulling her onto her feet, he led her back into the shadows, backs pressed against the wall as the King came into view.

"...and these, Your Majesty, are the female specimen we captured in the raid. As you can tell, they all carry that southwestern splendor they're so known for, and since they were raised in their barbaric ways, they are no doubt stronger and more able-bodied than any civilized counterpart." The lead soldier explained, going on about their possible uses other than workers.

The Chosen frowned at the situation. Their only way of escape was through the stair case the King had used, and while all backs were turned from that route, surely their shadows dancing upon the wall would give them away within no time.

However, to the right of their group, was the doorway into the male prison room. He'd have to use them as a distraction...

He silently gathered the key ring into his hand, and threw the item into the adjacent room. As he thought, it landed with a loud clattering noise on the stone floor, and immediately unleashed a medley of shouting and movement from the captives.

"What the hell's goin' on in there?" One of the soldiers exclaimed at the commotion, peering into the next room. He then entered, bellowing, "Break it up, ingrates! Hey... HEY!"

Another soldier followed him in, extracting his whip. "HEY!" He then began thrashing his whip about, and cries of unexpected pain could be heard from inside the room.

"Grab the keys, grab them!" screamed one of the prisoners in their native tongue.

"Shut up!"

The King shook his head in wonder. "What in the world IS going on in there?" he said as he made his way into the other room, lesser soldiers trailing behind him.

Zelos nodded, making a break for it as all backs were turned. "Now!" he had hissed, pulling Sheena with him.

Quietly and stealthily, he led her through the various corridors and hallways of the castle. All the while, Sheena secretly memorized their route; she had a feeling it could come in handy.

Once outside, Zelos laughed in relief, "Alright… we're out. It was a bit tight, but it's all in the past now." He grinned, "So, what's your name, beautiful?"

She did not answer him. It was not that she did not understand what he said—she knew exactly what he was asking—but something told her to stay quiet. She wouldn't have much, if any, power as a slave, so keeping a foothold in the prowess she retained was vital.

"You name," he repeated clearly. "What is it?"

She returned his question with a silent but deadly glower—which he totally blew off, saying, "We'll work on that,"

His grip on her wrist remained firm, making any chance of escape extremely difficult, if not impossible. Sheena knew he knew what she was capable of, and he respected her abilities. For that she did give him an ounce of respect in return—though she'd never admit it.

Zelos gave her a light tug on the wrist. "Let's get going,"

Grudgingly, she followed his lead over to a patch of gardens on the side of the castle, thinking in the meanwhile a strategy to last her until she could escape. If she revealed to him her knowledge of the Common Language as well as other things of the like, he'd be sure never to underestimate her.

On the other side, his eye never left her; he though himself most perceptive as he noted her lack of interest in the city around them. Any other slave, he remembered, would always become enrapt upon seeing the city for the first time, but she seemed deep in thought and totally oblivious to the rest of the world. This could mean two things, he decided, one being she'd already been here before or… she was well educated of the outside world, and if this was the case…

…Oh how fun things could get.

"Left," Zelos said.

Without thinking, Sheena turned to the aforementioned direction. This move, she soon realized, was to her uttermost drawback; she cringed inside. _Careless_.

An almost imperceptible smile played on the Chosen's lips; he witnessed her instant comprehension and execution of his command, this meant he was right. This girl did know the Common Language—but however much was still to be determined.

A steep ledge separating the quarters belonging to the nobility and the royal castle stood ahead of them, their feet lining the edge precariously. It would be not a challenge for Zelos to successfully land the jump without injury or hesitations, but with her in tow, he halted to consider an appropriate action for their situation. Busy with calculating the impact of jumping, something glittered in the sunlight, catching his eye.

The glitter originated from beneath the hardly sufficient rags that covered her. He reached with his free hand towards the top of her blouse, smirking. Curious. "What are you hiding, beautiful?"

Sheena's blood ran icy rivers as it dawned upon her for what he was reaching. Her exsphere, carrying a crest upon it not dissimilar to the Liberation Republic's own—an item she acquired in exchange for letting free a lost traveler, only after assuring a Vow of Secrecy, of course. No one, save for Lloyd, knew of her forbidden interaction with the Liberation Republic, and no one else would.

She shifted one foot back and prepared to strike him with a closed fist, but before she could create any contact, he jumped back. He had anticipated the hit.

This was not entirely to her inconvenience, however, as his grip was steadfast no longer. Leaving not a single second wasted, she delivered a swift kick to his chest, knocking him to the ground. She turned to find herself face-to-face with the sheer ridge yet again, and a familiar conversation came to mind.

"_So then, what do we do to get past them?" Orochi said, looking to Kitsune for an answer while visually inspecting the blocks._

_Genki shrugged, "Why don't we just clear'em?"_

Such a tactic under these circumstances certainly seemed a bit radical, reckless, and risky to her plan, should she get caught, but it was overruled by her desperate need to flee to the slums and hide out.

She jumped forward without even sparing a glance back at her pursuer. Landing safely, she took off without delay in the direction she thought—she hoped—the slums to be.

Within a minute, she arrived in the slums, thanking her lucky stars, but there was not a minute in which she could rest—she needed to find a place to hide. Fast, as her captor would soon approach.

Her eyes met with those of a russet eyed stranger. He was covered from head to ankles in frayed rags and scarves, the only exposed parts of him were his eyes, his hands and feet—everything else seemed to be masked for a reason other than the basic need to be clothed. As well as an air of mystery, a draft of familiarity surrounded the man, but she could not place a name nor family to this man in cloaks…

Neither could tear their gaze from each other until Sheena almost jumped out of her skin as she heard, "You can run, but you can't hide, beautiful!" It scared her and infuriated her at the same time; was this all just a game to him, her subjugator?

"You," stated the brown eyed man, but not in the Common Language. He spoke in her villages' tongue, "Are you a runaway?"

"Yes," she answered in a panic. She didn't know who to trust at this point, but if he could speak her language, then he was one she could trust more than others… right?

He nodded, opening a door to a nearby house, "Quickly! Hide in here!"

She muttered a breathless, "Thank you," as she scrambled through the doorway and over to the spot he had mentioned. The russet eyed stranger tailed her, pushing an oddly large book case aside to reveal a secret room. Inside, four others like her were stowed away, squinting as the blinding rays of light entered the small chamber.

"I'll be right back," he said as he pushed the bookcase back to its proper place, sending them back into darkness yet again. Everything was silent, her inability to make out anything in the shadows instilled her with a small paranoia; what could be going on beyond the veils of night?

"Who's here?" Sheena called out in the village tongue, desperately hoping at least one person understood.

"…Are you… a runaway?" a small voice leaked out from the darkness; it was obviously that of a child.

"Yes," she replied, "And you as well?"

The child hesitated in answering, "Ye… I… I'm a half-elf, Iselia."

"There's no need to worry," she whispered reassuringly. "I'm from Mizuho… what's going on here?"

"Quiet!" Another voice hissed fearfully.

Outside, they could distantly hear what seemed to be a conversation between the russet eyed stranger and… her captor. Suddenly, realization dawned on her: perhaps this man was sent to intercept runaway slaves like herself. She wasn't safe here, she wasn't safe anywhere!

She listened intently through the thick walls, "…which way?" her captor asked rudely.

He mumbled a response that she could not translate from its low pitch. Footsteps… he was gone. Not long after, the brown eyed man appeared again, pushing aside the book case. "It's safe to come out, now."

The people around her heaved a sigh of relief and followed her out of the small room. He pulled her aside, saying, "Your name is… Sheena, correct?"

She blinked in surprise, "How… do I know you?"

"Perhaps," he said, motioning for her to accompany him at a small table where he picked up a quill and a scrap piece of paper and began to scribble furiously. For a while, he was silent as he wrote. "…Do you know why they assigned you to make a pact with the Summon Spirit Volt?"

She was partially ashamed by her answer, "No… not entirely."

He nodded, never ceasing his inscription. "I see… Originally, it was to save those who had been captured in the first raid three years ago, but a few days before the incident, a letter was received from the Liberation Republic stating they believed the Capital Alliance knew of our whereabouts, and were willing to defend our village if we would use the powers of Volt to aid their cause. We had but little choice, and accepted their offer,"

He finished the letter, and handed it to Sheena. "I cannot explain all the details to you right now, but you must return to your captor and follow the instructions I've listed. It's vital to our success that you complete this without error."

She nodded solemnly, before glancing down at the note. "It's all… numbers,"

"Do you remember the Brown Fox code?"

She shook her head.

"_The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog_, just remember that." He stated flatly, leading her to the door. "Now go, I told him you ran off in the direction of the nobles' quarters. Let him find you, and be quick with completing your tasks. We don't have any time to waste."


	5. Tangible Hope

**Prisoner of War**

--

**A/N**: I'm terribly sorry about the long wait of over a year to update this fic. I really am. I do intend to finish this one way or another, so, y'know, this might be finished before we become grandparents, eh?

--

Exiting the tiny house in the midst of the slums, Sheena peered over the note once more, mumbling, "_The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog_…" repeatedly in hopes of revealing its meaning. Needless to say, the message behind the numbers remained a mystery.

Looking around, she saw no sign of her captor anywhere; however she still couldn't will herself to calm down. Fumbling to fold the note, she found she had no ample place to store it on her person without running the risk of it falling out, or of someone noticing the tan paper. She doubted any of the nobles knew the code, but who's to say they couldn't find out? She hesitated, contemplating burying it where she could later unearth it, but that option, too, was extremely hazardous. She didn't worry about anyone finding it, but she had little idea of what would become of her freedom once she submitted to becoming the slave to an aristocrat, so she feared never being able to recover it. Moreover, she needed to complete the tasks it held with great haste—a challenge within itself.

Finally, she had to make a decision. Carrying it in her hand, while secure, would be glaringly obvious and she could be punished for having possession of it in the first place. She unfolded the small, worn paper until it only held one crease. She rolled it up into the size of a small twig and clasped it between two fingers as she worked to undo the bun in her hair. Once she pulled out the band, letting her raven hair tumble down her back, she took the scrolled note inside the band, wrapping it around the note just once as not to damage the paper too much. She then carefully proceeded to put her hair back into her normal bun, making sure the note was secure and hidden beneath her hair.

Sheena shook her head vigorously, assuring that the tiny scroll stayed in place. When she found it hadn't moved a notch, she headed towards the noble's quarters, inwardly satisfied with her work.

Arriving outside the castle plaza within little time, she still could not find a trace of her captor as she began to feel a little on edge with all the odd stares she received from the children playing. A few of them visibly stiffened upon her arrival, abandoning their games and running towards their homes. She was drawing a notable amount of attention towards herself, which, in one way suited her just fine as her captor might find her more easily, but unnerved her with the thought that someone _else_ might try to engage in the role instead.

She needed to make herself look lost, confused and, most of all vulnerable, so that he might not get suspicious as to why she hadn't already managed to flee the city. Spotting a nearby flowerbed, she figured it to be her best bet if she faked to be asleep amongst the daisies. After all, what more innocent seeming thing in the world was there than a flower?

Scoping out an adequate spot within the patch, she got down on her hands and knees and crawled towards an open space within the miniature garden. She proceeded to lie on her side, feeling the cool, moist ground against her skin while the rays of sunlight poured over her body so mercifully. Even within the enemy's territory, she felt completely in bliss, trying not to let her senses dull.

To feign sleep, Sheena closed her eyes and picked up every sound of the activity around her. She could hear the children nearby as ran about, their finely crafted shoes clacking against the stone while they cried out and laughed innocently. She felt the wind rustle her hair and glide gently past her as it whispered softly through the daisies. Occasionally, she could hear the steady measure of an adult pass by.

She involuntarily shivered. She hated being as truly defenseless as she was; it went against nearly everything she had ever been taught and it even instilled a small shard of fear in her. Without fault in her reason, she did not have any trust in any of the people in the entire city, aside from those she already knew from Mizuho and Iselia. Sadly, she believed the proper terms for them, and she as well, would be anything but _people_; they would live under words much more derogative than they—or any other anthropological creature, for that matter—deserved.

Two hands suddenly grabbed her arms and her eyes shot open. His hold was strong and firm; he wasn't going to let her escape a second time.

"Gotcha, beautiful." He almost teased with a smile—she saw it as a sneer. "Now get up and come with me. There's only so much time in a day."

She put up a weak front of resistance, but rose to her feet and trailed him with her hands bound tightly in the grasp of his one hand. As he led her onward, he muttered, "It's really a shame I don't have a pair of handcuffs for you. They would come in _so_ much use."

Before long, he had taken her to the front steps of an extravagant mansion that seemed to pale only in the light of the king's castle. Without a hesitation, he threw open the grand doors and escorted her inside. Behind her, the doors slammed with a foreboding shut. They were large and thick, and she had a feeling it would be a long time before she would pass through them again.

"Yo, Sebastian!" Zelos called, letting his voice echo through the halls. Within little time, his butler of many years appeared in the foyer, head held high and hands neatly folded behind his back. As always, he was dressed modestly to the nines as his position entailed.

"Good day, Master Zelos." He calmly greeted. "Have you taken in another… servant?"

"Yeah, something like that," he laughed, giving her hands a slight squeeze. She subconsciously tried to squirm away but remained his captive. "I, uh… liberated an infidel hailing from the regions previously impartial to the hostilities occurring between the two great forces. I am under the moderately-founded suspicion that the incarcerated grasps a more than diminutive understanding of our maiden language, so I request your vocabulary broaden substantially when the subject's presence has been noted—for the sake of sustaining the element of surprise."

"Intriguing," the butler replied. "Would you want for me to escort and properly integrate the newest into the system and surroundings, Master Zelos?"

He paused, giving the offer a moment of thought. He then shook his head, "Normally that'd be routine but the experience in coming advises I should handle the issue myself." He then added plainly, "She's got a real knack for escape and evasion,"

He simply nodded. "As you wish, Master Zelos. Will there be anything else?"

"Nah," he said over his shoulder as he led her in another direction. "And if there is, I've got a loud voice."

"You are preaching to the choir, Master Zelos."

Even only after a minute it had gotten to the point where Sheena began to seriously consider making a break. The house seemed enormous and he still only held her wrists with his one hand. It took a lot of restraint from her part to keep walking, right after left, through every identical hallway and every equally grand room when the temptation of another escape teased her at every step.

Here and there would be a darting figure—oddly dressed nearly to the nines for carrying out elementary and lowly chores around the house. But… something within their attire seemed different from any normal nobleman or count, or whatever the case may be. There was a similar fashion amongst all of them that, regardless of the length of the sleeve on their left arm, their right arm from the elbow down remained completely exposed.

Every forearm had an eight digit code painfully etched unto their soft, pale skin. Their slave number was burned with black ink.

"Over here's where you people stay." Zelos hummed, opening a rickety door to reveal an expansive room littered with cots and basic personal belongings. At the far end a few round tables stood with worn chairs encircling them in a hasty fashion. He motioned towards everything with a sweep of his arm. "Your quarters. You'll eat, sleep and bathe here. I'll have Sebastian tell ya about how everything works in there later."

He shut the door and continued to pull her down the hall. "You know, compared to others, you'll really have it nice here. I'm not into the whole 'workers are expendable' thing." He laughed a little. "Of course, that doesn't mean you won't earn your keep." He lowered his voice, adding, "You'll just do so in different ways than most…"

Sheena didn't pay mind to him much as he spoke. She was more intently focused on assessing her surroundings and waiting for him to leave her alone so she could figure out what the auburn-eyed man had meant by the 'Brown Fox Code'. (She then prayed fervently the note had stayed in place and hidden.)

Finally, they reached an end to the hallway, a single seldom used door marked the end. But unlike the rest that lined the hallway, the door was finished in a rich oak with a polished gold-colored doorknob. He opened the door and ushered her in ahead of him. Hangars of clothes and outfits were packed into the space, hanging off rails, racks and stands littering the space. One could have made a maze out of it.

Zelos closed the door gently and called, "Hey, you in here?"

"Oh!" came a squeak from the back of the room—where ever that was. "Coming!"

A few seconds passed and a woman with brown braided pigtails resting on her bony shoulders bounded out from the maze of garments. She bowed apologetically. "Sorry, Master Zelos! I was just doing the laundry; some of your slaves are so carelessly messy! Can't you _please_ do something about it?"

"If I did that, there wouldn't be a need for your position, now would there?" He shook his head. "I pay you to do your job, and if there's no job for you to do, why should I pay you? I pay you good money for something as simple as this, you know. Don't give me reason to rethink your salary."

Her eyes flew open wide. "Oh, n-no! O-Of course not, Master Zelos, you don't have to—there would never be a reason to—" she closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure. "H-How can I help you t-today?"

"A worker's outfit for this one," he said with a huge grin as he put one hand on Sheena's shoulder. Sheena tensed and tried intently to shake him off, but like the grip on her wrists, he held on tightly. She swore could feel him laughing quietly at her attempts to lose him.

The woman had her back turned at this point, sweeping over the labyrinth of attire with her eyes in search of a clothing that would serve for the worker and—as she had gathered from the choice wardrobe of the other female workers—would serve the master's eyes as well.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, hurrying to a stand far away. They could hear hangars clicking together chaotically. "Here're some that might work. …Oh, and this one. These'll do nicely."

She returned with an armful of fabrics. "First off, did you have anything particular in mind, Master Zelos?"

"Not really," he sighed, his hand stroking the contours of her shoulder. He suddenly slipped his hand beneath the ragged cloth without a change of expression. "Just anything but this."

Sheena jumped under his warm touch, hell bent on escaping his hold. She tore her hands from his grip, spun and landed a swift clout right to the side of his head—all in one fluid motion.

He hissed, holding one hand to his head as he took a step back. At first he glared at her through narrowed eyes, but then he relaxed his stance and his glower turned to bemused laughter. "Got a lot of fight in you, huh?" he teased, still gently holding the spot where her fist had made contact. "I like that—_love_ it, beautiful."

Sheena considered pounding him again—she certainly had the motivation to. Though as much as she would have liked to—loved to—she had to remind herself she was here for a reason. She couldn't jeopardize her position at least until she figured out what the note said.

He watched her calculating hesitation with a smug look about him. He then looked past her to the clothing woman. "Just throw me onna those, will ya? Doesn't matter which." She did as he said. He caught it without a hitch. "Thanks." He slung it over his arm.

"Come on, beautiful." Zelos said, a hard edge to his smooth tone. "I think you've had your fun for the day."

He opened the door, waiting for her to follow. His eyes were made of blue ice. Begrudgingly and seeing no better option, she trailed him, always three paces behind. He took her back to the room where the other slaves made their residence in a chilling silence. He motioned her inside, his eyes never leaving her. She soundlessly made her way past him and he walked in and closed the door with a deafening _click_.

"Beautiful, resilient _and_ smart," he whistled lowly. "You know what's best for you. You could easily run away, but you don't. You could easily escape this city, too, but you don't."

His eyes ran along every curve of her frame. "You must be the one, then. The lone one that got away from Volt's wrath." He paused, looking her in the eye. "They're _dead_, you know. All killed by the wicked lightning strikes… but not you. …Why is that, beautiful? What makes you so special, hmm?"

The seconds ticked away and Sheena yielded nothing to him, not through sounds, eyes or actions. She stood her ground and glared defiantly.

Finally, he shook his head, tossing her the outfit he had slung over his arm. "I'm telling you this for your own good. You leave this house, and you will be killed. I won't be able to stop them." He gave her a final stern look. "Got it?"

She didn't answer; she didn't need to.

Zelos turned and exited the room, leaving Sheena alone in the expansive, cluttered room. She let the clothes drop from her arms and laid down on one of the cots. Every curse word she in existence flew from her mouth in a long, livid slur. Fists clenched so tightly, she could feel blood trickle in her palms.

"Dammit," she finally breathed. She rolled onto her side, facing the rest of the room. Atop one cot, a small wooden wolf laid next to a carver's knife. The canine looked mangled, caught between life and the timber; it looked like it was trying wildly to escape.

Sheena drew her arms in closer as a cold shiver swept over her.

Didn't Lloyd whittle a little?

--

Post Note: _Please look at my profile page to read an **announcement pertaining to all of my stories**. Thank you._


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